As the dumplings were finished one by one, the table was packed tightly with them.
At that moment, the professors emerged with the researchers.
"I was wondering why I didn't smell anything fragrant today," Professor Sada said. "Is dinner not ready yet?"
"I tried something new today, so it's a bit late," Ange replied with a smile.
Hearing about something new, the eyes of the professors and researchers lit up instantly.
"It looks like we're in for another feast tonight!" Professor Turo exclaimed.
"Everyone please have a seat for a moment, it will be ready very soon," Ange said.
Thus, the two professors and the researchers sat around the dining table. While anticipating dinner, they chatted about the progress of today's experiments.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a soft light over the grass and everyone gathered there. The sound of the researchers chatting, the Pokemon playing, and the bubbling of the boiling water in the pot... all intertwined like musical notes.
Ange looked at everyone, a peaceful smile appearing on his face. He lowered the plump, white dumplings into the hot water one by one, watching them dance in the pot.
"Your Highness, so these are dumplings? They look delicious," Romeo asked as he leaned over the pot. He had already learned from Diancie what was for dinner.
"They are! You'll definitely like them," Ange nodded. "But don't get too close, be careful of the hot soup splashing on you."
"Oh, right..." Romeo quickly backed away.
As time passed, the dumplings in the pot began to float to the surface. Romeo stared at them expectantly. "Your Highness, are they not done yet?"
At some point, Pawmi had also stood up next to Romeo. It stood on its tiptoes, staring at the pot with equal longing, a crystal drop of drool already hanging from the corner of its mouth.
"They're ready, they're ready! Go tell everyone that it's time to eat!" Ange said helplessly.
Romeo's eyes lit up at the words, and he turned to run toward the dining table.
"It's time to eat! Time to eat!" he shouted as he ran.
Meanwhile, Ange took out a large sea bowl and filled it to the brim.
Just then, Diancie came over, so Ange handed it the sea bowl filled with dumplings. "Take this to the table!"
Munchlax, Drizzile, and the Scovillain family saw this and hurried over to help carry the dumplings to the dining table. Before long, everyone was eating with great gusto.
"Whew—whew—" Professor Turo blew on a dumpling before impatiently stuffing it into his mouth. "These dumplings are amazing; they're the best food I've ever eaten!"
Professor Sada said helplessly, "Eat slower, be careful not to burn yourself." Despite saying that, her own eating speed was not slow at all.
Everyone gathered around the table in silence, the only sounds being the noise of chewing and the slurping of soup.
"I want another bowl!"
In the blink of an eye, Romeo had finished one bowl. He held up his empty bowl and shouted loudly.
Slurp slurp~
Beside him, Slurpuff shook its head helplessly. It took the bowl from his hand and helped him dish out another full serving.
"Thank you, Slurpuff, you're so kind!" Romeo said.
Seeing this, Ange spoke up, "Romeo, even if the dumplings are delicious, don't overindulge. Binge eating at night isn't good!"
Romeo gave a cheeky grin. "Understood, I'll stop after this bowl." He scooped up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. He squinted his eyes in happiness.
Paw paw~
By this time, Pawmi had also unknowingly finished a bowl. It held its empty bowl and came to Ange's feet, tugging at his pant leg incessantly.
As Ange reached down to take the bowl, another hand reached out first and grabbed it.
Munch munch~ I'll help you fill it, don't disturb my Master while he's eating!
It was Munchlax. It took Pawmi's bowl and walked toward the pot.
Pawmi wasn't angry at being scolded by Munchlax; it followed right at Munchlax's heels. Soon, it happily received a bowl brimming with dumplings and impatiently tried to grab one with its hand.
Smack~
Munchlax gave it a light swat.
Munch~ Use the spoon.
Pawmi immediately fished the spoon out of the bowl with a wronged expression and began to eat with it.
Munchlax had certainly become a reliable senior!
Ange looked at Munchlax with a look of gratification, feeling a sense of pride like a parent watching a child grow up.
The Scovillain family was currently gathered in a circle, eating heartily. It was their first time eating human food, and they never expected it to be so delicious. For a moment, they were unable to stop.
They had definitely followed the right person!
This was pure happiness!
The group had folded hundreds of dumplings, but in one meal, not a single one was left. The key was that the dumplings Ange made were large! Even the dumpling soup was finished.
"I'm so satisfied."
Professor Turo lay back in his chair like a corpse, unable to hold back a satisfied burp.
Professor Sada didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You ate far too much."
"Don't just talk about me, you didn't eat little either!" Professor Turo retorted.
"I still didn't eat as much as you; it's so unhealthy!" Professor Sada said.
"What does it matter once in a while?" Professor Turo replied indifferently.
Professor Sada exposed her husband without mercy. "Don't say 'once in a while.' Ever since Ange arrived, you've eaten until your stomach was perfectly round every single meal!"
Arven leaned against Mabosstiff, watching his parents bicker, and shook his head helplessly.
Ruff~
Mabosstiff gently nuzzled Arven, and Arven hugged Mabosstiff's neck in return.
After resting for a while after dinner, the professors went back to work late into the night. Ange took the Pokemon, Arven, and Romeo to sleep.
Diancie, Munchlax, Drizzile, the two Charcadet, and the Scovillain family were sent back to Nebel Plateau by Ange.
Before sleeping, Ange intended to claim his System mission rewards as usual.
There was still only one daily mission.
After clicking to claim, a prompt popped up.
[Congratulations Master on receiving the reward: 10 pounds of Premium Pork Belly.]
Ange's eyes lit up at the reward. This was great! Premium Pork Belly should be very tasty. He would cook this tomorrow!
After storing the reward directly into the System Backpack, he turned his attention to the two [Seasoning Collection Missions] he had just completed today.
First was [Seasoning Collection Mission 2].
Upon clicking to claim, the System immediately displayed a prompt.
[Congratulations Master on completing Seasoning Collection Mission 2: Capture at least one Nacli, Naclstack, or Garganacl. Reward: Special Recipe—Bean Paste Recipe (Essential seasoning for certain high-level recipes).]
[Mission completed beyond expectations. Additional reward: Constitution +2.]
Ange couldn't help but grin at the reward. Bean Paste! This was a seasoning required for many recipes, such as Braised Pork, Twice-Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu... and so on.
Bean Paste could be called an all-purpose seasoning; you could add a little to most dishes, and it would immediately transform the flavor.
Moreover, the Bean Paste made from the System's recipe would surely be very special! Ange couldn't help but feel expectant.
He flipped through the recipe interface and found that making Bean Paste required two very important materials: spicy seasoning produced by Scovillain or Capsakid, and rock salt produced by Garganacl, Naclstack, or Nacli.
As expected, the missions issued by the System were not random at all.
As for the additional reward, Ange wasn't surprised.
Next was the reward for [Seasoning Collection Mission 3].
Clicking to claim, the prompt popped up.
[Congratulations Master on completing Seasoning Collection Mission 3: Capture at least one Capsakid or Scovillain. Reward: Special Recipe—Hot Pot Base Recipe.]
[Mission completed beyond expectations. Additional reward: Constitution +1, Intelligence +2.]
Hot Pot Base? A surprise! Another surprise!
Ange hadn't eaten hot pot in a long time. Just thinking about the deliciousness made his mouth water! He didn't expect the reward this time to be a hot pot recipe!
Ange looked over the recipe and found that there were generally two types of Hot Pot Bases: a spicy red soup base and a non-spicy clear soup base. These were further divided into many types. For example, the red soup included beef tallow red soup and spicy red soup, while the clear soup included tomato clear soup and mushroom clear soup.
Just looking at these recipes made Ange's imagination run wild! He would make some to eat soon!
While Ange was feeling pleasantly surprised, he suddenly felt something was wrong with his body. An inexplicable power rose from within him and flowed throughout his entire body.
Just then, Diancie suddenly called.
Ange answered, and Diancie's voice came from the other end.
"Ange, do you feel anything strange in your body?"
"Yes, I feel like something extra has appeared inside me. It's very strange," Ange said hurriedly.
"That's right then," Diancie said. "I just received a System notification. Your Intelligence points have passed the threshold. You're about to awaken Aura Power!"
"Aura Power?" Ange exclaimed. "So that's what the Intelligence points are for?"
"Exactly," Diancie replied. "Aura Power will be very useful for your cooking in the future. When you use Aura Power to cook, there's a chance that you'll create Special Grade food with special effects for Pokemon based on high-level recipes!"
All things have Aura; it is a type of life energy within living beings. However, the Aura Power in most creatures is too weak for them to perceive or use.
Once Ange mastered the power of Aura, he could use it during the cooking process to organize the Aura energy of the ingredients, making the food even more delicious or even giving it special effects.
The recipes Ange unlocked through the System were divided into two main categories: ordinary recipes like Mantou, and high-level recipes like Milky Mantou.
After observing for so long, Ange found that the ingredients for high-level recipes were generally produced by Pokemon. For example, Milky Mantou required Grass Nanny Milk from Gogoat.
And only food made according to high-level recipes had a chance of becoming Special Grade food with special effects.
After Diancie's explanation, Ange finally understood why the System wanted him to awaken the power of Aura. This was incredible! He could actually use it for cooking!
He opened his personal information interface.
Ange Species: Human Gender: Male Age: 16 (+500) Constitution: 42 Intelligence: 21 Cooking Evaluation: A newbie who has just reached a passing grade in cooking.
The Intelligence column showed 21 points; it seemed 20 points was the threshold.
Feeling the special power within him, Ange understood everything.
"Ange, another System mission has arrived. I've accepted it for you, take a look," Diancie added over the phone.
"Okay, I see it."
Ange opened the System Mission interface and saw two new missions.
The first one: [Aura Training Mission]: Interact with 1,000 Pokemon and feel the Aura within them (0/1000)—Incomplete.
The second one: [Temporary Mission]: Request Professor Sada and Professor Turo to modify Robert 1—Incomplete.
It looked like he would be busy again tomorrow.
Fortunately, he was in Area Zero right now, which was home to a large number of Pokemon. If he were anywhere else, this Aura training would be a headache.
However, this [Temporary Mission]... Ange was a bit confused. Was it because his Robert 1 was too clumsy?
Without thinking too much, Ange set the mission aside. Since the System had issued it, he would just follow it. Why overthink!
After chatting with Diancie for a bit, Ange hung up and drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up the next morning, Ange made breakfast for the professors as usual, and then he started working on his own.
He called Jeremy, the assistant assigned to him by the royal family, and asked him to buy a lot of pork and send it to Nebel Plateau. He then had Diancie bring it to Area Zero.
Since there was work to be done at home, Diancie went back after delivering the pork.
Looking at the pork piled high on the table, Arven asked in confusion, "Brother Ange, why did you get so much meat?"
"To make some snacks," Ange explained.
The System required him to interact with 1,000 Pokemon and feel their Aura, so Ange planned to make snacks to attract the Pokemon.
Besides, he couldn't let the Pokemon help for nothing.
"Snacks?" Arven asked, looking puzzled.
"Yes, I plan to make some dried meat."
Ange took out a large basin and began washing the pork in it.
Paw paw~ Is it tasty?
Pawmi asked as it sat gnawing on a tomato.
Ange rubbed its head and said, "I'll let you taste it once it's done."
Paw paw~
(ˊˋ)* Pawmi excitedly ran to Oinkologne and the others to tell them the good news. Before long, the Oinkologne also ran to Ange, staring at him expectantly.
"Then I'll help too!" Arven said.
"Alright, thank you for the help!" Ange smiled.
Paw paw~ And me! And me!
As soon as it heard Ange was making something delicious, Pawmi couldn't sit still.
Espa Espa~
Espathra was not to be outdone either.
"Okay, okay, everyone together," Ange laughed.
With the Pokemon's help, the pork was soon washed. Ange then put them into the food processor to grind into meat paste.
Because there was too much pork to process, if he chopped it by hand, his arms would surely break. It was better to use the machine!
Once the paste was ready, Ange added the seasonings bit by bit: light soy sauce, cooking wine, fish sauce, oyster sauce, red yeast powder, salt, sugar, black pepper, and so on, and then began to stir.
"Espathra, could you please help?" Ange asked, pointing at a giant basin of meat filling.
The meat was too much and too heavy; he couldn't stir it himself, and stirring in batches was too troublesome. He decided to let Espathra use its psychic powers!
Espa! Okay.
Espathra walked to Ange's side, its eyes flashing with white light. In an instant, the huge basin of meat paste began to tumble and stir rapidly.
After stirring for half an hour, once the paste and seasonings were fully integrated, Ange called a halt.
"Espathra, thank you for your hard work!" Ange said gratefully.
Espa Espa~ It was nothing.
Espathra shook its head, indicating no thanks were needed.